ATPC Work in Progress No. 81 African Trade Policy Centre Economic Commission for Africa ATPC A Decade (2000-2010) of African- US Trade under the African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA): Challenges, Opportunities and a Framework for Post AGOA Engagement Laura Páez Stephen Karingi Mwangi Kimenyi and Mekalia Paulos 2010
ECA CEA - CEA - ECA ATPC is a project of the Economic Commission for Africa with financial support of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Material from this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted. Acknowledgement is requested, together with a copy of the publication The views expressed are those of its authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations.
ATPC Work in Progress Economic Commission for Africa A Decade (2000-2010) of African- US Trade under the African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA): Challenges, Opportunities and a Framework for Post AGOA Engagement Laura Páez Stephen Karingi Mwangi Kimenyi and Mekalia Paulos* The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the United Nations. *Ms. Páez, Mr. Karingi and Ms. Paulos are affiliated to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. Professor Kimenyi is affiliated to the Brookings Institute.
Table of Contents Abstract vii I. Introduction 1 II. Assessing the AGOA Framework 3 2.1 Overview of the AGOA Framework 3 2.2 Trade Performance under AGOA 4 2.3 Current Discussions on AGOA 6 2.4 AGOA and the Generalized System of Preferences of the WTO 8 2.5 AGOA and other Trade Preference Schemes 10 III. Challenges of a Post-AGOA Framework 13 3.1 Preference Margin Erosion 13 3.2 FDI Diversion and Specialization 14 3.3 Loss of Employment and Gender Equality 16 IV. Conclusions and Way Forward 18 4.1 An Extension of AGOA beyond 2015 18 4.2 Post-AGOA Scenarios 21 4.3 Conclusion and recommendations 22 V. References 23
Abstract The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) has been part of the US international cooperation efforts for Africa since 2000. It entails a series of incentives provided to African countries by the US opening its market for exports originating from these countries. The unilateral preferential trade arrangement also sets a framework for partnerships in the field of trade and investment. The present paper seeks to assess the progress and achievements of AGOA over the past decade with a view to determine how these efforts have contributed to Africa s long-term growth. Among other elements, the paper critically reviews the perspectives of the public and private sector stakeholders involved in the AGOA forums, the implications of bringing AGOA in conformity with WTO rules, and the challenges the African region faces in terms of complying with standards and SPS in the US export markets, eliminating supply-side constraints and diversifying trade. Finally, the paper also analyses the importance of AGOA relative to other preferential schemes such as the EU-ACP, emphasizing differences with regards to the type of access and its conditions and the resultant utilization rates. The paper concludes with a discussion of the prospects, options and policy recommendations for African countries post-2015, when the current arrangement is expected to expire. Key Words: African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), Africa, preferential trade schemes, Generalized System of Preferences, international trade, foreign direct investment, economic development. JEL Classification: F10, F13. vii
I. Introduction The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was signed into law by president Clinton on May 18, 2000 as part and parcel of the US Trade and Development Act of 2000 and was billed as a historical turning point in US African relations. Since then, AGOA has been the centerpiece of U.S. trade with Sub-Saharan Africa. The legislation provides for preferential treatment of exports from Africa in the form of duty-free and largely quota-free access to US markets. The legislation, which was to expire in September 2008, has been amended a number of times as reflected in Section 3108 of the Trade Act of 2002, AGOA Acceleration Act of 2004, and the African Investment Act of 2006 (referred to as AGOA, II, III and IV respectively). In addition to making substantial changes to the original provisions, these amendments have also extended the life of the Act which is now in effect until September 2015. With just five years left to its expiration, concerns have been raised as to the extent to which AGOA has met its objectives of increasing African-US trade, diversifying African exports and facilitating Africa s integration in the global economy. Africa remains a small player in global commerce, accounting for a relatively small share of international trade, 3.2% as of 2008. Generally, Sub-Saharan African countries have been characterized by weak export growth, low diversification of exports and low foreign investment levels. The US, by purchasing nearly a quarter of Africa s exports, has been the region s largest single country market. By granting duty free and largely quota-free access of African exports to the American market, AGOA was expected to promote exports to the US, as well as attract investments to Africa, thereby helping stimulate economic growth. Touted as a transition path from development assistance to economic selfreliance, it was hoped that AGOA would unleash a wave of bilateral trade and US investment in the region, exemplifying a trade-not-aid approach to fostering long-term economic development. AGOA grants duty-free and largely quota-free treatment to selected exports additional to that allowed under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), provided they are not deemed import-sensitive, from qualified Sub-Saharan African countries. AGOA eligibility is reviewed annually and the US has the option of unilaterally revoking benefits on the basis of AGOA eligibility criteria. AGOA places heavy emphasis on Africa s emerging textile and apparel industry as the primary sector for trade benefits. This sector is considered to hold the highest potential of fostering Africa s export competitiveness and export led pro-poor growth by generating greater employment due to its relative labor-intensiveness. Currently, 38 SSA nations are AGOA eligible of which 27 have eligibility for textile and apparel benefits. The Act also provides for technical assistance to promote firm-to-firm business relationships, assist African states with market-based economic reforms and encourage greater African participation in WTO negotiations (notably, with an emphasis on deepening services trade liberalization in the region, a sector 1
where Africa countries have undertaken relatively less market access liberalization commitments than developed country members of the WTO). Finally, AGOA also seeks to encourage more US investments by establishing a more reciprocal partnership based on the negotiation and enactment of bilateral trade agreements with interested African countries. Ten years since coming into force, the success of AGOA in achieving the objectives envisaged have come into question. A large number of studies show that the largest share of US imports from Africa continue to be concentrated in oil and other energy products. As such, the preference scheme has not contributed towards increasing the diversification of African economies. In addition, benefits from AGOA accrue to a limited number of countries. Overall, it is therefore not clear that AGOA has contributed to Africa s economic growth and whether it is desirable to continue with the scheme in is present state, especially in light of other preference schemes, a concern which African governments themselves have expressed during the Ministerial Consultative Group Meeting on AGOA in 2009. This paper seeks to provide an assessment of the experience with AGOA over the last 10 years. The paper evaluates the extent to which the key objectives of increased exports, greater export diversification and increased FDI flows have been met. The paper also discusses the main challenges faced by African exporters within the context of AGOA, taking into account other impediments such as compliance with standards and SPS, supply-side constraints and lack of export diversification, which currently impede a full reaping of the benefits from this preferential scheme. Finally, the study seeks to contribute to the discussions in the context of the latest AGOA Forum held in Washington in August 2010 and also proposes a set of policy recommendations for debate and consideration by the African Union Ministers in order to map out a way forward towards maximizing the utilization of the trade preferences set out in the Act to realistically meet Africa s long-term economic growth and development needs with a balanced trade-led strategy. This paper is structured as follows: The first section serves as introduction. Section 2 assesses AGOA achievements, analyzing its impact on trade performance and the divergent views which exist on this initiative. After that, Section 3 reviews some of the challenges of a post-agoa framework beyond 2015, in terms of preference erosion, FDI diversion and specialization, as well as concerns on employment loss and gender equality. In turn, Section 4 discusses some of the issues which need to be addressed if AGOA is extended beyond 2015. Finally, Section 5 concludes by highlighting some of the policy recommendations for African countries participating in AGOA.
II. ASSESSING THE AGOA FRAMEWORK 2.1 Overview of the AGOA Framework A country is deemed eligible for AGOA benefits if it has established or is making progress toward establishing market-based reforms, an open rules-based trading system, rule of law and due process, political pluralism, the elimination of barriers to US trade and investment, economic policies to reduce poverty and improve health care and education, a system to combat corruption and bribery, and protection of internationally recognized worker rights. In addition, beneficiaries may not engage in activities that undermine US national security or foreign policy interests, engage in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights, or provide support for acts of international terrorism. With regards to conditionalities, AGOA preferences are afforded to countries meeting certain economic, political and human rights conditions, and are equally withdrawn if countries fail to comply with these conditions, as was recently the case of Madagascar, Guinea and Niger. Apart from the eligibility criteria, another form of conditionality is the graduation of countries on the basis of economic development criteria, such as a threshold of US$ 1,500 GNP per capita. Correspondingly, Gabon, Mauritius, Seychelles and South Africa, which have a higher GNP per capita than the threshold, do not fully classify as lesser developed beneficiary countries and therefore do not benefit from the Special Rule for Apparel under AGOA. This Special Rule affords duty and quota free access for apparel with fabric originating from anywhere in the world to lesser developed beneficiary countries Acknowledging that the objectives of AGOA cannot be met through market access alone, the US works closely with African governments and businesses to help maximize AGOA trade benefits by launching other trade-related initiatives. Accordingly, the centerpiece of US support for building trade capacity for the last five years has been the $200 million African Global Competitiveness Initiative (AGCI), chief among its programs being to aid African countries make the most of the trade opportunities available under the Act. It operates under four USAID-funded regional hubs in Botswana, Kenya, Ghana and Senegal. In 2009 alone, these hubs facilitated over $71milion in transactions in the textile and apparel, specialty food, cut flowers, and other product categories mostly under AGOA. Additionally, they continue to address sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) issues, specifically in the areas of food and safety, plant and animal health, as well as working to improve protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs). AGOA also holds relation with the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). With a target capitalization of $875 million, OPIC envisages the support of five new private equity investment funds focusing on SSA, to afford more investment opportunities under AGOA in the region. Further, other initiatives related to AGOA include Trade and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFAs), Trade, Investment and Development Cooperative Agreements (TIDCAs) and Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs). In May 2009, the US signed its 11th TIFA with Angola, which joins other SSA partners such
as Ghana, Liberia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, COMESA, the EAC and UEMOA, in tightening their relations with the Western hemisphere. In addition, the US has a TIDCA with Southern African Customs Union (SACU) and BITs with Rwanda, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Republic of Congo and Mozambique. BITs are deemed to promote economic growth and at the same time help protect US investment by advancing important reforms and encouraging the adoption of liberal policies that facilitate and support foreign investment. In turn, TIFAs provide a formal mechanism to address bilateral trade issues and to help enhance trade and investment relations between the US and key SSA trade and investment partners, and finally TIDCAs address issues such as customs and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phyto-sanitary (SPS) measures, and trade and investment promotion. 2.2 Trade Performance under AGOA Statistics reveal that AGOA has had a measurable and sizeable impact on African trade with the US since its entry into force. Overall, total US imports have increased significantly, albeit from a very low base of $5 billion, almost five-fold until 2005, reaching over $25 billion. Between 2005 and 2010, imports have been fluctuating, decreasing markedly between 2005 and 2006 to $21.2 billion, on account of the expiration of the MultiFibre Agreement, as well as a fall in world commodity prices on which almost all of the AGOA countries are highly dependent. Table 1 in the annex presents the individual trade performance of AGOA eligible countries from the inception of the AGOA to date, emphasizing US AGOA imports (excluding GSP), and summarizes the total monetary values by country at the HS 8-digit level. 2009 registered an even sharper decline in US imports to a low of $12.7 billion, most probably as a result of the financial crisis and the possible impact of stimulus packages for US producers to the detriment of AGOA beneficiaries, to name a few, although a modest rise has been noted this year. Percentage wise, import growth has not seen similar rates to the first five years: 2005 recorded a 500% growth in total US AGOA imports compared to 2001 (AGOA s first full year in effect). Further, it is evident that utilization rates vary significantly among beneficiaries with only a handful of countries such as Nigeria, South Africa, Angola, Lesotho, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Congo and Swaziland primarily reaping AGOA preference benefits. In turn, Table 2 in the annex shows the latest (2009) annual figures of leading US imports from AGOAeligible countries at the HS 8-digit level. Energy related products take the lion s share of imports; accounting for almost 90% of imports, at a value of $30 billion, portraying that diversification remains an enduring challenge. After that, the next leading imports were transportation equipment (valued at $1.4 billion, accounting for 4.2%), textiles and apparel (valued at $918 million, accounting for 2.7%)
and minerals and metals (valued at $413 million, accounting for 1.2%). Other chief imports included: agricultural products ($290 million), chemicals and related products ($263 million), miscellaneous manufactures ($43 million), machinery ($23 million), electronic products ($21 million) and footwear ($494 thousand). Tadesse and Fayissa (2008) take into the account the impact of AGOA on the initiation of imports (i.e. trade initiation, when AGOA product or country imports were negligible prior to its enactment) and on the volume of exports (trade intensification), using data at the HS 2-digit level. They find that a trade-intensification effect for coffee, tea, mate, spices and knit apparel, which collectively make up 15% of AGOA exports (and for 14 other HS-2 products with minimal shares). They also find evidence of substantial export initiation for 12 products, most of which had very small trade shares including cosmetics, plastics and cotton (knit apparel was also included). Notwithstanding the prominence of energy, mineral and related products in overall US imports, the textile and apparel sector represents a rising share of US AGOA imports. In terms of sector value added and structural transformation, this sector had been touted as the primary conduit. Hence, the emphasis of the majority of assessments of this import category. Table 3 illustrates trade flows from all AGOA-eligible countries regarding textiles and apparel (excluding GSP) at the HS 8-digit level, throughout the life of the act to date (recently non-eligible countries such as Madagascar have been included to provide a holistic assessment of benefits reaped since AGOA s inception). In terms of overall imports, there has been a significant supply response during the years 2001 and 2004, from $355 million to $1.6 billion, amounting to an over 400% increase. There has been an evident economic payoff for countries such as Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, South Africa, Swaziland, Botswana, and to a lesser extent Ghana, Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda and Cape Verde. There was a sharp decline in 2005 to $1.4 billion as the effects of the MFA expiration began to be felt. Since then, textile and apparel imports have been gradually declining to a low of $914 million in 2009, although this is still higher than 2001 levels. More importantly, preference utilization is essentially limited to thirteen countries only, less than half of textile and apparel beneficiaries (as has been noted in previous sections, there are special rules that apply for textile and apparel eligibility). In terms of sector value added, the expansion has primarily been in the apparel sector with a small increase in the value-added in the sugar-related sectors. Furthermore, the benefits to African economies should not be overstated. For instance, although Kenya appears as a major beneficiary in the sense that clothing exports to the US rose four-fold, this was from a minimal pre-agoa base and the majority of firms involved are recent entrants, non-kenyan arrivals located in export processing zones. Another instance is that of Lesotho where clothing exports under AGOA are cut, make and trim by subsidiaries of (primarily Asian) multinationals which provide all the inputs; there are limited linkages to the local economy and the exports are susceptible to modifications in AGOA rules of origin. Almost half of
South Africa s clothing exports to the US do not avail themselves of AGOA preferences due to producers finding it more cost-efficient to import textiles (primarily from Asia, especially China) and hence do not meet stringent rules of origin requirements. By some estimates, benefits of AGOA for Africa would be approximately five times greater if exporting countries were not subject to restrictive rules of origin. Although AGOA has helped to increase exports, it is far from evident that is has helped to establish a viable, sustainable and competitive export sector in SSA, not least due to its limited and uncertain window of opportunity faced by investors as will be further explained in the following section. In sum, although AGOA has met one its objectives of increased exports, it appears that it has not succeeded in meeting its primary goal of lasting export diversification as the much lauded textile and apparel sector accounts for less than 3% of US imports currently. Sustainable long-term economic growth and development entails structural transformation of the economy, which persists as an intractable Sub- Sahara African challenge. 2.3 Current discussions on AGOA Both the US and Africa see optimism in fostering closer trade and investment ties between the two regions through AGOA. However, perspectives as to its benefits and challenges thus far differ. The present section covers these differing views of the Act. US Perspective on AGOA From the perspective of the United States, AGOA continues to have a profound and positive impact on US Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) trade and investment. It has expanded the two-way economic relationship, providing duty free access for over 6000 products from the 38 AGOA-eligible countries. It has stimulated new trading opportunities for businesses, created tens of thousands of jobs, and brought millions of much-needed investment to Africa. Total trade (exports plus imports) between the two regions has nearly tripled since 2001. Since then, AGOA and General System of Preferences (GSP) imports have increased more than five-fold, reaching $44.2 billion in 2007. Non-oil imports more than doubled registering $5.1 billion in 2008. The US merchandise trade deficit with SSA continued to widen in 2008 to $67.5 billion, up from $53 billion in 2007. By complementing GSP market access, AGOA has opened the US market to almost all goods produced in AGOA-eligible countries and has helped to increase both volume and diversity of US SSA trade. It has provided new market opportunities for African exports, particularly those of non-traditional and value-added products, and as such has aided African firms to produce higher value products and become more competitive internationally. This has boosted African economic growth and contributed to poverty alleviation.
Being SSA s leading export, oil has also been the primary export commodity under AGOA, with Nigeria, Angola, Chad and Gabon as the main AGOA beneficiaries. However, AGOA s primary focus has continuously been export diversification and hence, the Act has facilitated sizeable export growth across a wide range of non-oil products such as apparel, chemical products, footwear, machinery, electronics, toys, sportswear, fruits, nuts and cut flowers. The number of countries exporting non-oil products has gradually risen since the enactment of the legislation. Noteworthy among these are South Africa, Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Madagascar, Rwanda, and Tanzania. Other major non-oil exporters include Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, and Uganda. In addition, by offering incentives and support for African economic reforms, AGOA fosters an improved business environment in numerous African nations by undertaking concerted efforts to forge closer cooperation between the government and private sector to improve infrastructure, eliminate bureaucratic red-tape, facilitate customs procedures, and build experience in producing and marketing value-added products for the US market. This has also aided the creation of new opportunities for US foreign direct investment (FDI). Africans are increasingly seeking US inputs, expertise, and joint-venture partnerships. The US has been a leading provider of FDI to Africa. By 2007, its direct investment position was $13.8 billion, a 52 percent rise from 2001, which is indicative of more Africa trade support and an enhancement of US-African business partnerships. Among the numerous and diverse AGOA successes the US lauds, the following are noteworthy: South Africa exports the widest range of AGOA products including luxury automobiles, citrus fruit, wine, and footwear; Lesotho has become the leading SSA exporter of apparel to the United States; Kenya s AGOA exports include fresh cut roses, sporting fishing supplies, nuts, plastic products, jewelry, and essential oils, as well as apparel; Ghana s value-added export under AGOA include chocolates, jewelry, baskets, and preserved pineapple. Furthermore, numerous African businesses, which prior to AGOA had never considered the US market, are attending trade shows and receiving export orders for various products ranging from Ugandan organic cotton T-shirts to Mauritian seafood, Malian tote bags, and Ethiopian flowers. At the previous AGOA Forum of 2009, the US also noted that challenges remain in realizing the full potential of AGOA It affirmed its commitment to provide more trade capacity building assistance and aid for trade to African countries as well as aiding their regional integration efforts. However, it continues to call on the region to do its part by increasing diversification efforts as well as competitiveness through improved African business and investment climate private sector involvement, which may in turn nurture joint entrepreneurial initiatives. This is viewed as critical for developing joint ventures in specific product sectors with US - African investors and companies, which may create opportunities for increasing vertical integration of companies that add export value; removing trade barriers affecting US exporters and implementing other necessary reforms so as to increase trade; improve infrastructure;
adopt and meet international standards; and finally, address other numerous supply-side challenges. In conclusion, it is through shared responsibility that AGOA may catapult long-term sustainable growth in SSA. African Perspective on AGOA From the African perspective, a rise in trade between the US and SSA has also been attributed to AGOA. Trade is seen as an engine for sustainable economic growth and poverty alleviation, thus the potential of AGOA in removing single-commodity dependency and lack of value added is pivotal. However, trade between the two regions still remains low and highly concentrated in oil and oil-related products, despite a modest increase in non-oil exports since the inception of AGOA. Improving AGOA utilization by beneficiary countries is still seen as a major challenge. Although an increase in apparel and agricultural goods under AGOA has been observed, the need for export diversification remains. Furthermore, AGOA lacks sufficient coverage of products with are of export interest to African exporters, particularly agricultural goods and textiles. This calls for meaningful rules of origin, especially in the textile sector, and clear sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards and requirements such as those for product visas. Some of the key issues which hinder US market penetration are annual AGOA eligibility reviews. These create uncertainties which in turn impede African countries from realizing the full potential of AGOA. In addition, US investment appears to be limited in extractive industries to the detriment of the manufacturing, agriculture and tourism sectors, thereby limiting AGOA s potential of directly enhancing Africa s industrialization efforts. Finally, just as preferential trade schemes such as AGOA are a crucial contribution to development efforts, they also harbor preference erosion as these proliferate and there is a generalized fear among African countries that their preferences will be diluted as development partners such as the US and European Union (EU) engage in negotiations at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels with other beneficiaries. Hence, there is a need to enhance and safeguard the current benefits of AGOA beyond its expiration in 2015. 2.4 AGOA and the Generalized System of Preferences of the WTO The World Trade Organization (WTO) abides by a core set of rules which govern international trade among its Members States. These rules are the pillars for a more transparent, predictable and rulesbased multilateral trading system since the formal adoption of the Uruguay Round Agreements in 1994. Two core principles of the multilateral trading system are most-favoured nation (MFN) and national treatment (NT), which ensure non-discriminatory treatment among the 150+ members for trade in goods under the General Agreement for Trade in Goods (GATT 1994).
An overarching exception to such non-discriminatory treatment in the WTO is contained in the Enabling Clause, a legal provision which allows for deviations from the norm. The Enabling Clause explicitly sets out the conditions under which developed Member States may circumvent general obligation to confer Special and Differential Treatment (SDT) to developing and least-developed countries (LDCs). In other words, the Enabling Clause allows for the violation of MFN and NT principles for the sake of preferential market access to the developing world. There are several modalities through which developed countries may offer SDT; however, the most important mechanism is the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). The foundations for establishing a GSP originated under the auspices of the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in the 1960s. The rationale behind the GSP was to encourage export-led growth and economic development of developing countries by providing these with more advantageous trading conditions, enabling them to compete in international markets and to obtain greater export earnings. Further, any treatment conferred under the GSP had to be mutually acceptable and is of a non-binding and temporary nature. These principles still guide the GSP as of today. Thus, the GSP not only recognizes the crucial role of international trade for development, it also acknowledges the disadvantages developing countries face when trading under equal terms with developed countries, by providing preferential market access to overcome these disadvantages. The main principle of the Enabling Clause for affording SDT through the GSP is contained in paragraph 2 (a), footnote 3, which states that the granting of preferences on behalf of developed countries to goods stemming from developing countries should be done in a generalized, non-reciprocal and nondiscriminatory basis. In other words, the language of the Enabling Clause seems to suggest that for a GSP scheme to be consistent with WTO law, preferences must be granted on an equal basis and in a manner that does specifically exclude certain developing country members or groups, does not demand or generate the expectation of preferential treatment in return, or accords differentiated treatment which may lead to discrimination among these countries. As such, the Enabling Clause does not establish criteria to qualify or distinguish between developing countries. It is based on the principle of self-nomination, meaning, countries may self-proclaim themselves as developing nations. This contrasts with the concept of LDCs, which are nominated on the basis of a set of defined criteria by the United Nations, and which are also beneficiaries of GSP schemes under the Enabling Clause. Nonetheless, several GSP mechanisms under the WTO do differentiate among developing countries, as is the case of AGOA, which, not only discriminates among developing countries, but also establishes a set of conditionalities, as was briefly explained in section 1 of this paper. Differentiation and conditionalities under certain GSP schemes have led to a heated debate and even legal challenge through the WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism. With regards to differentiation,
some developing countries have questioned the consistency of the European Communities GSP, which similar to AGOA, provides unilateral market access for exports of developing countries. As a result of the legal rulings, the WTO has argued that developed countries should not discriminate among developing countries when conferring preferences and that this should be done on an equal basis. This sets a legal precedent for questioning other unilateral preferential trade schemes, such as AGOA, which exclusively targets African countries and also distinguishes among them on the basis of their level of economic development and fulfillment of a set of conditions. Advocates of differentiation argue that different treatment under the GSP does equate discriminatory treatment, so long as the condition of paragraph 3 (c) of the Enabling Clause is respected, and which establishes that any SDT must respond positively to the development, financial and trade needs of developing countries. In other words, if a GSP schemes which differentiates among developing countries does contribute to the improvement of development, financial and/or trade of beneficiaries without resulting in discrimination, then it may be duly justified. However, it is very difficult to observe and establish a direct link between such measures within a GSP scheme and an improvement of development, financial and trade conditions of developing countries. In summary, from the present analysis, the US GSP including AGOA differentiates among beneficiaries on 3 levels, namely by: (i) grouping developing countries into regions; (ii) imposing conditionalities such as labor and political requirements and (iii) graduating countries on the basis of economic development parameters. There are serious grounds for incompatibility between AGOA and the WTO GSP, since this differentiation violates the basic principle of affording SDT in a generalized, non-reciprocal and nondiscriminatory manner, as is established in the Enabling Clause. In this sense, even though the WTO recently passed a waiver for AGOA, developing countries members have the alternative of challenging it under the Dispute Settlement Mechanism, as India did recently with the EU GSP. In the past, China has been opposed to the extension of the preferences given to African countries by the US under AGOA and this opens the door for the possibility of a dispute on the consistency of AGOA under the WTO. This calls for reflection of a critical revision of this preferential scheme, especially given the unilateral, non-permanent and conditional nature of AGOA, as well as the high costs of adherence conditionalities and differentiation represent for sub-saharan African beneficiaries. 2.5 AGOA and other Trade Preference Schemes There are several GSPs schemes which, similar to AGOA, provide trade preferences to African countries. Notable among these are the European Union s GSP scheme, which includes a standard GSP, and the 10
Everything But Arms Initiative. A common denominator of these schemes is their unilateral, temporary and conditional character. A first strand of the EU GSP scheme is the Everything But Arms Initiative (EBAs). The EBA is an initiative of the EU to grant LDCs more favorable and differential treatment than the rest of the developing countries. Currently, 33 African countries benefit from the EBA. It is the most favorable regime currently available for developing countries when compared to other GSP schemes such as AGOA, providing duty-free and largely quota-free access for 7,140 products from LDCs, with the exception of arms and ammunitions. Despite these laudable international cooperation efforts, empirical research indicates that LDCs have not been able to fully take advantage of these preferences. Arguably, this may be partly due to some quantitative restrictions on products with export potential for (African) LDCs, namely sugar and rice, and which were only recently phased out in 2009, in addition to the well-known supply side constraints of LDCs, complex rules of origin and NTBs of the EU markets. Further, though there are no conditionalities under this scheme, countries are subject to graduation once these are no longer categorized as LDCs according to the UN list of LDCs, as was the recent case of Cape Verde in 2008, which has been given a transition period for the phasing-out of its preferences until the end of 2010. Similar GSP schemes for LDCs are offered by Canada, Japan and South Korea, and China and India have also announced trade preference schemes for LDCs. The second strand of the EU GSP scheme is known as the general or standard GSP, which is accessible to 176 developing countries. It offers preferential market access for 6,244 products covered by over 6,200 tariff lines. This general GSP is less advantageous than the EBA, in that it provides market access on the basis of product types. Correspondingly, non-sensitive products from developing countries enjoy dutyfree market access conditions, as opposed to sensitive products which are subject to below MFN tariffs. As with AGOA, this scheme envisages conditionalities and graduation as well as similar product coverage. However, the EU scheme is less restrictive given more favorable tariff conditions for sensitive products, as opposed to AGOA which establishes volume caps on apparel imports from beneficiaries. In this sense, when African exports surpass these thresholds, they are subject to normally applicable tariffs and have to compete with more competitive exports. Finally, a third strand of the EU GSP scheme is the Preferential Duty Regime for African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP), which offers preferential tariffs to countries from these three regions through respective ACP-EU agreements known as Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). Though formally not conceived as GSP because of their reciprocal nature, these agreements are being negotiated to replace the previous trade provisions under the former Lomé Convention with a new trade regime which includes market access and rules of origin provisions through three preferential duty regimes, as follows: i) Comprehensive EPAs; ii) Interim EPAs (IEPAs), and iii) application of the general GSP arrangement for countries (or EBA in the particular case of LDCs) which have not concluded relevant EPAs or IEPAs 11
negotiations. African countries are mostly scattered across the second and third regimes, whilst few are in the midst of negotiating comprehensive EPAs. There is a fundamental difference between these EPAs and AGOA, in that EPAs are bilateral agreements negotiated by both parties, which generate binding commitments based on reciprocity, whereas AGOA is a unilateral arrangement affording preferences to African countries. From a legal perspective, both parties to an EPA are held accountable for the observance of the agreement. In principle, because an EPA agreement is legally enforceable, any party may seek legal redress if the other party violates or fails to comply with the agreement. With AGOA, preferences may be terminated unilaterally, without prior consultation. In this sense, EPAs may be viewed as superior to AGOA, even though in terms of preferences, the latter may render more market access opportunities for African exports than the former. Finally, in addition to the EBA and the general GSP scheme, the EU also has a GSP+ scheme which offers additional tariff reductions for 6,336 products from developing countries complying with a set of (positive) conditionalities. Under these conditionalities beneficiaries are vulnerable countries in terms of their size or limited export diversification and have to comply with a set of human rights, labor, sustainable development and good governance standards. Though currently no African countries benefit from this regime, the list of countries is subject to continuous review and is open to those African non-ldcs which are not negotiating EPAs or IEPAs. As mentioned before, the US GSP including AGOA applies negative conditionality, meaning preferences which apply to all beneficiaries are either withdrawn or refused, as opposed to the positive conditionalities approach of EU GSP+ scheme, which offer additional benefits to compliant countries. While the former type of conditionalities erode the beneficiary status of a country, the latter type can arguably promote further compliance to a set of desirable performance parameters. In conclusion, there are several GSP schemes which are afforded to African countries. Though they may share the same purpose and are unilateral, temporary, conditional in their nature, these foresee variable product and country coverage. In this myriad of preferences, AGOA appears to be one of the more stringent schemes, burdening beneficiaries with compliance requirements and unpredictable market access opportunities for their products. This begs the question of how countries may be best equipped to overcome these burdens in order to harness the potential of improved trade, investment and employment opportunities offered by AGOA. 12
III. Challenges of a Post-AGOA Framework Having reviewed and compared some of the preferential trade schemes applying for African countries with the AGOA preferences, and given its temporary, unilateral and conditional nature, the question of a post-agoa scenario arises. What are the main challenges the expiry of such preferences may pose on the African continent? What could be reasonably expected beyond 2015 if AGOA is not renewed? How could Africa fare under this scenario? This section seeks to address these questions by focusing on the challenges a post-agoa scenario may raise in terms of preference erosion, loss of FDI and employment opportunities. 3.1 Preference Margin Erosion AGOA affords duty free and largely quota-free access with 98% product coverage. Despite this broad coverage, there are important exclusions on specific agricultural products, such as sugar, peanuts, dairy and tobacco, which are among the main revenue generating exports sustaining many African countries. Nonetheless, it sets the framework for market access to one of Africa s most important export markets. The margin of preference currently afforded to African countries under AGOA is of 7.7%, while the average duty on excluded products is above 30%. These preference margins are rather low, given that products liberalized under AGOA already enjoy duty and largely quota-free access under the US GSP, which washes down any preferences for African nations as they compete with other beneficiaries, such as Cambodia and Bangladesh in the particular case of textiles. Moreover, preference-receiving countries do not fully reap the preference margins under AGOA due to the presence of intermediaries such as transport and logistics companies, importers with market power and administration costs. In addition, these preferences are further washed down by US subsidies for domestic producers, such as the cotton subsidies. These subsidies artificially lower world cotton prices, thereby reducing revenues of African cotton exporters with negative spillover effects on the development of a textiles and apparel sector in Africa. For agricultural commodities, AGOA adds 541 products to the 519 which already benefit under the US GSP, which again means that the preference margin on half of these goods is permeated when preferential treatment is afforded to other non-african developing countries. Furthermore, more than 200 tariff lines, representing 17% of the total number of dutiable agriculture tariff lines, do not enjoy preferences neither under AGOA or the US GSP. Products under this last group are also subject to considerable tariff escalation, eliminating virtually any market access opportunities for African agricultural products. 13
Currently, over 82% of the goods entering the US under AGOA are petroleum, followed by mineral products. These stem from a handful of SSA countries. Woven and knit apparel, which are ranked 6th among the top 10 exports, barely report 1.3% of US imports from Africa, followed by ores, cocoa, organic chemicals and gases. Putting this in context, total US apparel imports during that same year were valued at $93 billion, of which SSA accounted for $1.1 billion (i.e. 1.26 % of the total market). This sum becomes even more modest if we consider that Bangladesh alone exported $3.5 billion worth of apparel, which is more than double the total SSA apparel exports. Thus, the expectation of AGOA creating an opportunity for manufactured and more diversified exports for a great majority of its beneficiaries is yet to be fulfilled and calls for an improvement of the current conditions so as to afford meaningful market access opportunities in US markets. And yet, despite the daunting reality of an unchanged structure of African exports to the US, there is evidence that some countries have managed to diversify their exports, create jobs and attract FDI, particularly in the textiles and apparel sector, such as Lesotho, Kenya, Madagascar and Swaziland. Further, some countries have also taken advantage of AGOA to promote S-S trade and FDI and create value chains, which in turn have been catalysts for regional integration, as has been the case of cotton exports from Tanzania to Kenya for textile production, or the example of South Africa and Mauritius which have invested in the textile sector in other African countries, in addition to other countries such as France, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, Bahrain and Israel. Finally, some countries have also managed to diversify their exports to include agricultural products, such as South Africa, Kenya and Mauritius. It is in the light of these examples and potential in Africa that a phase-out of AGOA calls for reflection. Countries which have not benefited from AGOA so far (approximately 50% of SSA beneficiaries) will not harness trade, FDI and job creation opportunities afforded by AGOA if it is not renewed. Equally, SSA beneficiaries already benefiting from AGOA will most likely loose both traditional and newly gained markets to competitors once preferences expire. 3.2 FDI Diversion and Specialization Most of the discussions about AGOA have tended to focus mainly on the trade dimension. One of the successes highlighted from the African perspective is that AGOA-inspired exports have risen from US$21 billion in 2000 to US$86 billion in 2008. While most of the export gains for Africa have been in the oil-sector, there has also been significant growth in some non-oil African exports. The automobiles sector in South Africa and the textiles and clothing sectors of Kenya, Mauritius, Lesotho and Madagascar have thrived, spurred-on by the AGOA preferential terms. Automobile and transport related exports from South Africa to the US have risen phenomenally from US$148 million to US$1.9 billion. African exports of apparel articles have risen from US$350 million in 2000 to US$1.3 billion at the peak of AGOA, before 14
the expiry of the Multifibre Agreement (MFA) fostered deeper competition from Asian countries such as Bangladesh. In 2009, African apparel exports under AGOA were worth US$900 million. Therefore, in a sense, though concentrated in product and origin portfolio, AGOA has nonetheless helped in the diversification process, though at a weaker pace than was anticipated. The other side of the story is that besides promoting trade between the US and Africa, AGOA is also expected to be a catalyst for investments in Africa. Domestic and foreign investments aimed at taking advantage of the AGOA preferences are expected to crowd-in additional investments from the US. Specifically, as the African producers expand their production in order to increase their market shares, US and non-us investors are expected to play a significant part in this. On the investment front, it is also a challenge to attribute FDI flows specifically to AGOA. However, in its early days, as benefiting countries built small industries especially for textiles and apparel, there are figures that indicate that more that US$1 billion FDI flows stemming from the US were directly related to AGOA. An increase in export-oriented FDI linked to AGOA has certainly taken place as UNCTAD (2002) notes: A US company investing in a tuna processing plant In Malawi, AGOA has led to FDI in two garment factories by European and Taiwanese companies and the creation of at least 4350 jobs. It was estimated total employment would increase by 10, 000 for a total of 20,000 workers In Mauritius, FDI worth $78 million took place. Prospects of Asian and European companies building cotton-yarn spinning mills were strong. In Senegal, a leading Senegalese apparel and textiles company planned to enter into a partnership with a US textile manufacturer and a Malaysian firm to export to the US with a potential creation of 1,000 jobs. In Tanzania, a textile mill was expanded in partnership with a US firm involving 1,000 jobs In Cape Verde, a fish-processing company was acquired by a US company, and two new Portuguese investments in the garment industry were announced. In South Africa, the establishment of a new $100 million clothing facility by Malay investors expected to employ 13,000 workers. 15
Comparisons of pre-agoa and post-agoa (2004-2005) demonstrated an increase of inflows by up to 77% in the AGOA countries rising from $7.1 billion (1999-2000 average) to $12.5billion (2004-2005 average). According to UNIDO, between 2003 and 2005, developing country investors doubled their employment in Africa. In addition, there is also evidence of Southeast Asian FDI in garment manufacturing factories, which also benefit under the AGOA provisions. Transnational corporations from mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan have been among the most active investors, underscoring the importance of AGOA in galvanizing FDI from emerging economies and strengthening South-South trade. It is in this context that FDI-driven specialization in textiles and apparel raises a major concern, especially if AGOA preferences are to expire in 2015. FDI in this sector is very mobile and can be quickly dismantled, which could replay a MFA scenario of loss of markets to Asian competitors leading to de-industrialization as during the MFA phase-out. This would also mirror the short-lived experience of Caribbean countries under a parallel preferential scheme known as the Caribbean Basin Initiative, which experienced a dismantling of their incipient textile industry (and respective FDI) once exposed to NAFTA and later on, Chinese competition. 3.3 Loss of Employment and Gender Equality Beyond trade and investments and the requisite improvements in socio-economic and political framework necessary for these objectives to be attained, the main overarching goal of AGOA remains that of helping African countries to reduce poverty. Yet poverty reduction is only possible if trade and investment lead to higher growth (and hence increased income) and/or reduce inequality through an improved redistribution of wealth. A key factor to the growth and inequality nexus in achieving the poverty reduction goal is employment creation. Therefore, any discussions about AGOA ought also to consider the jobs that the various investments have created. In the lead up to the AGOA Forum of 2009, it was estimated that over the nine years the initiative was in place (i.e. since 2000), over 300,000 new jobs have been created in Africa. This is an average of over 30,000 new jobs per year. Estimating the number of jobs that AGOA has helped create over the last 10 years would be a daunting task. One can however rely on evidence available from some of the beneficiary countries to try and paint the picture of how AGOA has helped foster employment. For instance, in the first two years of AGOA certification, Lesotho experienced a 36 per cent increase in employment from 29,000 to 45,000. This expansion in employment was due to the establishment of new companies that intended to take advantage of the AGOA preferences. Most of these companies set up operations in textiles, clothing and footwear, sectors that tend to be labour-intensive and female-workers friendly. Therefore, though not envisaged, AGOA in Lesotho has not only fostered new investments and employment, but also helped 16